About Us: A History of The Ken Fox Troupe

“You never forget the first time you saw the Wall of Death”

The Wall of Death is one of the last remaining live shows of it’s kind still on tour in the United Kingdom today. From a rifle range in Skegness to touring the world, read on and discover the story of the Ken Fox Troupe and their devotion to the show.

Ken Fox has been riding, building and presenting Walls of Death for over 40 years, and is the only person who has been consistently doing so. Ken and his troupe tour all over the UK and Europe through summer and they carry out all the maintenance work on the bikes and the Wall over winter.

Read on below to find out the Troupes story and how they became the world famous stunt show that they are today.

We will start with a brief history of the Wall before it was what it has become now. The Wall of Death is believed to have first started in this country in 1928. Some sources say it originated from America and other say from South Africa. The first actual printed report on the Wall of Death was in the World’s Fair newspaper in June 1929. Henry W. Rymers report is headlined “The very latest thrill at Southend”. The article goes on to state that the Wall had been brought over from America and that Captain De F. Moorhouse was putting on this marvellous spectacle at the Kursaal, Southend-on-Sea and that the attraction has just opened to the public.

From here, others followed and walls started to appear at various seaside towns around the UK, including Skegness, and this is where our story begins. History has it that the first connections to the Wall of Death at Skegness were thanks to the great showman Billy Butlin. He claims that after discovering the show in 1935 at Newcastle, he trained 18 riders to perform on 9 walls at various fairgrounds one of which being Skegness, which also happened to be the place he opened his first holiday camp that same year.

A gentleman named Roy Cripsey learned to ride in 1931 and by 1934 owned his own Wall of Death and travelled throughout South Africa. He later settled in Skegness himself. His wall became a popular attraction and later in life along with his two sons Graham and Gary continued to perform to the holiday makers that flocked there during the summer months.

It was here in 1975 that they were joined by local boy Ken Fox. Ken started off in the time-honoured way as a ticket collector and gradually worked his way up to rider and now owner.

Ken was born in Skegness where his parents had a rifle range on the amusement park.
They were positioned opposite the Wall of Death that was operated by Roy Cripsey and his two sons. At every possible opportunity, Ken would sneak off to watch the show and right from the start he knew that the Wall of Death was what he wanted to do. At the age of 13, Ken’s parents allowed him to take a job on the wall working Sundays from 9am till 5pm. His jobs included sweeping the floor, making cups of tea and helping to get members of the public into and out of the show. This may not seem very glamorous, but it has been the foundation of how many Wall of Death riders have started their career.

At 16, Ken was offered the opportunity to ride and in an instant his life changed. Suddenly he wasn’t just a ticket collector, but now he was part of the Wall of Death world. Ken was very fortunate to have three very good teachers. His first lesson was on a Suzuki 185. Very quickly, Ken realised that the learning process was not a quick one but more about perfecting each area before moving onto the next aspect. This is a technique that Ken still uses when teaching his own riders today.

It was in September of 1982 that the Cripsey’s Wall of Death closed it’s door for the final time and was packed away to be sold. Ken took this opportunity to apply for a job as a rider in North Africa. Ken contacted the advertiser who happened to be a man named Peter Catchpoole. After a brief discussion by letter, 18 year old Ken packed up a rucksack and for the first time in his life, he left Skegness to join Peter and head out for Lagos, in Nigeria.

Ken travelled around Africa for 2 years before returning to the UK. In 1985 Ken spent the summer performing on the Wall at an amusement park in Southport. It was around September of that same year that Ken was invited to and first rode at the Oktoberfest in Germany, something that he and his sons have done many times since. After returning home during the winter months of 85’ and the start of 86’ Ken and Peter prepared The Wall for its first season travelling. It was during this time that Ken met his future wife Julie.

In 1986 Ken and Peter travelled their wall around the UK for the first time. They presented the show at some of the well-known fairgrounds including Newcastle Town Moor and Mitchem Common among many others. However, they found that the travelling fair didn’t suit the Wall of Death. It was then that they discovered steam rallies and everything changed. The rallies were very popular at the time and the people that visited them appreciated The Wall. It was during this time that Julie became pregnant with their first son. In 1987, Julie gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Luke.

In 1988, the wall that Ken was travelling was becoming tired and worn out. It was a very heavy, old wall and although he had rebuilt a lot of it, the riding panels were still original and needed a lot of work. Eventually, Ken and Peter realised that the repair work was too much and the old timber was sold off to a collector of vintage fairground equipment. It was during the winter months of 88’ that they built a new Wall of Death using reconditioned parts from the old one and also had a new set of panels made.

The new wall was revolutionary as the floor was mounted on a trailer, almost certainly the first and last of it’s kind to be built. It cost a considerable amount of money and a lot of hard work but it was not successful. From the start, neither Ken nor Peter liked the wall but neither would admit it to the other. It had been planned that the new wall would have a faster, easier build up process but this was not the case. It actually took longer to build up and was in Ken’s opinion more dangerous to handle. Although the new wall was a good wall to ride due to it being lovely and smooth, there were a lot more parts. It had 24 panels instead of the usual 18 and everything had to be moved twice whilst building up or pulling down. Ken and Peter continued to travel the wall up until they took it to Australia in the winter of 1989. At this time, they split their partnership and Ken went his own way.

In early 1990, Ken received a call from another Wall of Death owner Allan Ford asking if he would be free to build up and ride for the weekend after having some problems with members of staff. Ken agreed and that weekend lasted 3 years until the end of the 1992 season. It was almost like fate calling Ken back as the wall that Allan owned was one that held sentimental value to Ken as it was the Cripsey’s Wall which Ken learned to ride on at the very start back in Skegness. This Wall had been rebranded as the Motordrome Company. Ken toured with Allen as a trick rider alongside another rider Ned Kelly. During this time, Peter had sold the fold-up wall to the Buxworth Steam Group. In 1993, Ken was contacted with an offer he couldn’t refuse…

The Buxworth Steam Group ran an old-time fun fair which, along with various other attractions, now owned a Wall of Death. However, they needed someone to not only travel The Wall but also to ride it. Their solution was Ken, and as timing worked out he was available. Ken moved on from Allan’s wall and became manager of the Wall of Death for the Buxworth Steam Group. Ken travelled with the company for a couple of months before reconciling with Peter. A Wall of Death owned by Tommy Messham that was located in Singapore was in need of a rider and possible new owners. So, with the view of once again owning his own wall, Ken packed his bags and was on his way. Ken added a new experience to his every growing list and thoroughly enjoyed his time abroad. The wall was in need of too much repair to warrant the price and time needed to restore it.

Presented with the new problem of where to obtain a wall, Ken and Peter only saw one solution – to build a new one. Many people would not think this to be problematic, but whilst they had previously restored walls, they had never a ctually built a brand new one from scratch. It was on Boxing Day 1994, shortly after the birth of Ken and Julie’s second son Alex, that Ken started his plans to build the wall. He gathered his measuring tools, a sheet of ply and some calculations he had worked out and went to Peter’s house where, along with a nail, a long piece of string and a glass of wine, they drew out the measurements for building a rib - the core of a Wall of Death panel. So it began in Ken and Julie’s hallway - the ribs, centre and sleepers of the new wall were all made. To complete the work, they moved to Birkenhead Docks. Whilst Peter was responsible for obtaining the materials, Ken was tasked with the joinery and painting. The whole build was completed in just 20 weeks – a remarkable achievement! Eventually in 1995, after a trial run in New Brighton, the first completely brand new Wall of Death for some 70 years made it’s debut appearance at the Rempstone Steam Rally.

During 1996, Ken was joined by a man named Danny Dare who he taught to ride and has remained with The Wall on and off ever since. Danny continues to travel with the Wall of Death, but has now retired from riding and instead, spiels to the public on the front of the show. It was during the same travelling season that upon Ken’s return to Rempstone, he met Neil Calladine. Ken was walking around the show when he spotted a model and exhibition of old pictures of the Wall of Death. This exhibition belonged to Neil. They got chatting about The Wall and Ken ended up spontaneously asking Neil to spiel on the front of the show. Neil had a powerful voice and was an enthusiast for The Wall so he was well suited to the role. Neil and Ken became good friends and Neil continued to travel with the wall for many years.

The Great Dorset Steam Fair of 1997 is one not to be forgotten by Ken – it was when he married his wife, Julie. They married at the local registry office which was followed by a blessing in the Wall surrounded by friends and family, including their two sons. Around this time, Ken began teaching his eldest son Luke to ride The Wall at age 11. Luke now participates in all acts of the show, including trick riding and go-karting. Luke’s trick bike is the oldest one owned by the family and was built in 1921. Stepping up into his father’s shoes, Luke now teaches new riders on his own wall.

Peter and Ken remained partners until Peter’s sudden death in October 2000, at which point Ken took sole ownership of The Wall. He was fortunate that although he had lost one partner, he still had another – his wife. Julie became an integral part of the show as not only is she Ken’s wife, but she also helps with build up and take down, drives the lorries, as well as looking after the crew.

Ken continued to tour the Wall throughout the UK and Europe and in 2004, Kerri Cameron joined the troupe after seeing an advertisement which she initially thought was for a horse rider! Once she had experienced what The Wall entailed, she accepted the job offer and learnt to ride the go-kart. She continued to expand her riding skills and now participates in all acts of the show, riding her own Indian Scout.

In 2006, Ken’s youngest son Alex started to lean to ride on the Wall of Death when he was 11 years old, following in the footsteps of his father and eldest brother. Alex has since developed his riding skills and now performs the trick and stunt riding and takes part in the Hellriders race. He does this on his own Indian which was passed down through the Wall of Death generations, originally belonging to Doug Murphy who retired from riding in 1982.

During the winter months of 2007, Ken received a phone call: “what would you say if Chris Palmer was selling his Wall of Death?”. The Wall in question, owned by Chris, was the original wall towed by Tommy Messham and the last one to open in the UK before Ken and Peter had returned home from North Africa. Coincidentally, it was the same wall that they had been to see in Singapore. The story had gone a full circle and Ken was once again being offered the chance to buy it. After much consideration, Ken agreed to visit Chris to see if a deal could be arranged, which it was, and Ken found himself with a second Wall of Death. The Wall was transported back to the family’s home at Wilburton where repair work was carried out to prepare the Wall for opening.

In 2012, Alex’s now wife Abby joined the team. Alex and Abby met at the Pickering Steam Rally and Abby continued to visit Alex at various events for the remainder of the year. In 2013, Abby started travelling full time with the troupe and Alex started teaching her to ride on The Wall. In 2017 they got married and welcomed their son to the world at Easter in 2023.

The family now operate the only two remaining full-time travelling Wall of Death shows in the UK. Luke Fox, his wife Kerri and their children travel the original Wall of Death show along with long-time family friends Martin and Corrinne, and guest riders Donald and Chris John. The Ken Fox Wall of Death is toured and operated by Mr Ken Fox, his wife Julie and son Alex. They are joined by Alex’s wife Abby and guest riders Katherine Star and Kieran Canham.